Welcome
Welcome to the website of Saint Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church.
We are a parish of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad under the
spiritual direction of Metropolitan Laurus, First Hierarch of the Russian Church
Abroad, and Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan. Our pastors are Father John
Townsend and Father Steven Ritter. We are located in Roswell, Georgia, and our parishioners come
from all parts of the metropolitan Atlanta area and beyond. We welcome
visitors from all over the world.
St. Mary's is part of the worldwide Orthodox Church which was founded by
our Lord Jesus Christ and spread throughout the world by His Apostles and
their successors. We strive above all to unite ourselves to Christ. For this
reason we are committed to the Truth that He Himself embodied. We will
strive to follow the holy tradition that Christ has given us for our
salvation, and we welcome all who wish to take up the Cross of our Lord
and join their efforts with ours in following Him.
We also welcome all who are seeking the Church that teaches the
unchanging truth proclaimed throughout all the centuries from the time that our
Savior taught to the present day, the Church that is connected to Jesus Christ
through an unbroken succession of those who proclaimed and tried to live
the life that He gave us. Whether or not you are ready at this time to make
your commitment with us, you are most welcome to "come and see."
Who was St. Mary of Egypt?
St. Mary lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the Sixth Century (app.
527-565 A.D.). By nature, St. Mary was a woman who loved the flesh and was infamous for
her sinful way of life. In the company of people she had led into sin, she
traveled to the Holy City of Jerusalem.
Through curiosity, or by the saving hand of God, she attended the
celebration of the feast of the Holy Cross at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
At the church, she renounced her sinful life and went to a monastery on the
banks of the Jordan River. There, she received communion and entered into the
Palestinian desert to live the remainder of her life as a hermit and ascetic
for Christ. Living in an age that seems to reject all common morality, we at
St. Mary's find great strength in our patron. more...